


The Path of Duty

by pigeonfluff



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Bittersweet, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, M/M, Mild Angst, Post-Promised Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 10:50:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14616831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pigeonfluff/pseuds/pigeonfluff
Summary: Karley has always known that when the chaos of Promised Day settled, he would have to make a choice. He'd never expected his choice to have a deep affect on another... or for Kain Fuery's choices to mean so much to him.





	The Path of Duty

**Author's Note:**

> Aka, the fic that got me called an angst muffin. Nothing much special to say here, lol.
> 
> Please, read and enjoy!

It had been months since the Promised Day, but for many life was starting to feel normal again. The hallways of Central Command, were bustling again, despite damage that was yet to be fixed. Many soldiers had left in light of the events, the incompetent men discharged, and those unwilling to fight having resigned. To fill the gaps, those men who had been pushed to Amestris’ fringes and borders for being a danger to the old administration had been recalled. Many were given promotions that were long overdue. Yes, for most life was returning to normal. For many, life was better now. But for the newly-promoted Captain Karley, it felt like nothing could ever be normal again. How could it be after everything they’d seen, everything they’d lost?  
No one who had been at the center of the action, informed of what had really happened had truly healed. General Mustang was still in the hospital, his ever faithful adjutant still at his side as she herself recovered. General Armstrong had never been one for bedrest, but she had her own problems in dealing with the fallout left by the former High Command. As she’d been a member of that organization, she now bore the brunt of accusations against the old government. And Briggs… Fort Briggs had lost many of its best men. It could take years to fully rebuild their forces.  
And yet, despite the loss, there was a gain, some sort of what the Alchemists called Equivalent Exchange. Months of work had brought forces together, old divides ignored or erased in face of a shared battle. Just like the old vets said, your most reliable friends often turned out to be those you fought beside in the heat of battle. Karley was a communications officer. His place was rarely on the field, in the spotlight. Nonetheless, the battle had changed him, shaken him, his iron wall cracked. He’d found his own solace in gossip rings and radio wires, information and practicality. And then he’d found Kain Fuery. Or rather, Kain Fuery had found him, alone, restless, trapped in the dark that still haunted his dreams, and stood beside him, firm and unwavering. What had been a casual friendship had bloomed into something more, two men joined in resolve, both determined to fight past the demons that still lingered in both Amestris and their hearts.  
Karley grinned, as he caught a glimpse of Kain striding confidently down the hall towards the radio room, back straight, composure steady, the picture of a courageous soldier, a war hero. Of course, after his actions on the Promised Day, Kain Fuery was all of those things. He’d grown up over the last year, finally coming into his own, no longer the anxious and overwhelmed young officer he’d first met so many years before.  
“Sergeant Feury!”  
“Oh! Captain Karley! I wasn't expecting to see you!” His smile was broad as he registered who was speaking to him, and there was a refreshing spring in his step.  
“I was looking for you, actually.”  
“Me?” Kain chuckled, and the sound made Karley's heart soar. Laughter had been a rare sound since the Promised Day. There was too much darkness still hanging in the air, too much weight on their minds. But now Kain was beaming, and Karley felt the relief that most had already embraced, with the most imminent threat defeated  
“Yeah. I heard something through the grapevine…”  
“Spying again?”  
“Doing my job.”  
Again, Kain laughed, bringing a smile to Karley’s lips. “Well… I did have something to tell you… I was going to wait until tonight…”  
Karley felt a knot tie in his stomach. So the rumour mill hadn't let him down. Kain kept talking, seemingly oblivious to Karley's concern.  
“I…. You know they offered me a commission…”  
“Yeah… I heard it would be right from whoever top brass is…”  
“You always manage to find things out.”  
“Well… It is my job. Gotta give the Queen a good reason to keep me around, after all.”  
Kain was still smiling, but now there was a certain sadness behind it. “I’ve decided to take it. I… the Col-- General says I’ve got real potential. And they’re going to need good men in the East.”  
So this was it. Kain was leaving him behind. No, Kain had made a soldier's choice, and he had chosen his duty. He had hoped… But Kain was a good man. Mustang only took the best under his wing.  
Still, Karely felt somehow like he was teetering on the edge of Fort Briggs. One second he’d looking hopefully over Amestris, the next he was falling, falling, destined to break on the ice below.  
“Congratulations then, Warrant Officer. I wish you well, in your pursuits.”  
“There’s no need to be so formal! It’s not even official yet.” Still Kain was blushing, and looking hopefully up at Karley. They had talked, before. Oh how they’d talked about this, about what was to come, what had to come. Of course there was hope, the parts of them that wanted to forget it all, and move to the country, raise a dog and maybe a family. Parts that wanted to be happy, and normal. Parts that weren’t bound to the military. But they had choices to make, and paths to choose. One fork led to their domestic happiness, the future they deserved. The other led to duty, the lives they’d fought so hard to live.  
"So… what about you, Captain...?”  
Karley looked deep into the still bright eyes, and saw through them, into the shadows, the tiredness that still lingered below. Karley stood at the fork in the path, and made his choice.  
"The Queen… My General needs me. Especially with… Captain Buccaneer, and his squad..." He looked down, away, anywhere to hide his own grief. Anywhere to keep himself from seeing the face of a brokenhearted man.  
"I... I understand."  
Kain shuffled his feet a bit, and Karley was reminded starkly of just how young he still was. Kain Feury had until so recently, still been blessed, still innocent to the horrors of the battlefield. Karley cursed the bastards who had made Kain’s eyes those of a killer.  
"Hey… hey, we always knew this was coming… I bet you'll do great in the East. Someone's gotta look after Major Miles for us."  
The grin was forced. He was so tired of pretending.  
And then Kain was there, pulling at the collar of his jacket, and pulling him down into a deep kiss. It was rough, unrefined, desperate, and passionate, and everything that Karley had ever wanted to hold on to, everything he’d ever fought for.  
"The General doesn't leave anyone behind. I watched too many good men get thrown out and left to die by that bastard who called himself Fuhrer! I’ve finally found something, someone I want to protect, and I am not going to let you just… throw it away!"  
Kain’s eyes were fierce now, and Karley was all too aware of just how he lived up to his name, the fire that burned in them the fire of a man willing to fight and die for his convictions. It was the fire that had kept Karley warm in the darkest days since the battle, the fire that he’d fallen for.  
"Kain... I..."  
"Shut up Alistair! We're communications officers, for Alchemy's sake! We can always call, or write letters. Something, anything!"  
Karley inhaled deeply. Kain was still pleading with him, still clutching his lapels and not letting go. It had only been a few months but... Whatever this was, he wanted it to last. Kain wasn’t letting go, so why did he have to?  
Once again, he stood atop the fort, tired, arms weak from hanging, but Kain had caught him, saved him from the void.  
"We'll have to find a way to get you up to Briggs sometime. It's… different there. Easier to…”  
He left the implications hanging. Kain knew what he meant. He always did.  
"Well, I could always pay a visit to Lieutenant Fallman. And there's still joint training every year…”  
"Kain…”  
"Don't… don't say anything else. We've got duty to attend to."  
"Yes, of course. I'll… see you tonight?"  
"Tonight." and then he turned, precisely, the picture of a perfect soldier once more.  
Tonight, they'd share each other, their bed and their hearts.  
Tomorrow Karley would ship North again, with a duty to fulfil, and only these memories to keep him warm.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feedback is always welcome~


End file.
